Lake Baikal Crossing Update

For those of you that follow me on social media, you will have seen that my plans to take a three man team to walk across Lake Baikal next spring have come undone a little. In short my teammates Ben and David have both had to pull out. A marked decline in their seasonal/freelance work, and the visa requirements for self-employed workers pushed the viability of the trip beyond their current means.

At short notice, needing a month of work, and costing a little shy of two grand – the search for a replacement teammate was not going to be easy. Although in the back of my mind I’ve been preparing for the eventuality of going solo, it would be nice to share the journey with someone else.

After a number of pleas on social media and asking everyone who I think might be interested, I’ve come up trumps with a teammate from a previous trip. Phil and I completed a guided crossing of the Finnmark plateau together in February 2016.

The new team in Norway, February 2016

We’re going to revise our route a little (around 100km less than originally planned) to fit around work requirements, but given that we’ve both worked together before we’re aiming to do a faster crossing in 20-22 days.

That’s all for now. More to follow once flights and final logistics are in place.

I’m a postdoctoral exercise scientist by day, and cold expedition adventurer (for want of a better term) and outdoors and health writer by night.
I’m based in Leicester in the UK, but I also spend considerable time in Cambridge where my partner lives.
To find out more about me, visit my about page or take a look at my published writing.